Maori Teachers in 'Mainstream' Schools

Cultural Sustainability: Maori Teachers in ‘Mainstream’ Schools. Jenny Lee (Ngäti Mähuta) The University of Auckland, New Zealand Paper presented as part of a symposium ‘Indigenous Education: Generating diverse approaches to cultural sustainability’ with Margaret Taurere and Wiremu Doherty. The International Diversity Conference 2005. Institute of Ethnic Administrators, Beijing, China. 24 June, 2005 Jenny Bol Jun Lee 2 DRAFT ONLY (Not to be cited) 7/6/06 Introduction This year Maori celebrate twenty years since the first Kura Kaupapa Maori (Maori language immersion and philosophically based primary school) was formally established in New Zealand. Today there are 439 Kura Kaupapa Maori, Maori immersion, and bi- lingual schools and classses throughout New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 2004a, p. 205), in which 26, 676 Maori students attend (Ministry of Education, 2004a, p. 116). Derived from the ‘flax roots’ of Maori communities driven by a commitment to Maori language, culture and educational achievement, Kura Kaupapa Maori represent a symbol of Maori aspirations for education. Aspirations that include the social, political, economic and cultural sustainability of Maori as a people. While kaupapa Maori schools and programmes1 have been able to make dramatic changes to the philosophical, cultural and structural underpinnings of how teaching and learning operates, ‘mainstream’ schools have been constrained by the preferences and policies of the dominant group, resulting largely in the status quo. Many ‘mainstream’ schools, in particular secondary schools, have made little progress in improving Maori educational outcomes and advancing Maori educational aspirations. Often schools have little interest and/or limited resources to incorporate Maori knowledge, culture and perspectives in and outside of the curriculum. This struggle to include Maori culture in meaningful ways in the curriculum is compounded by few Maori teachers. Whereas much of the popular ‘effective teaching’ literature in New Zealand at present tends to ignore the potential of Maori teachers to progress Maori achievement, I argue that they are key to fulfilling the Maori educational aspirations in ‘mainstream’ schools. In a local educational context that purports to value ‘diversity’, this paper seeks to 1 These include Kura Kaupapa Maori, bi-lingual and whänau type schools, classes, units and programmes. Jenny Bol Jun Lee 3 DRAFT ONLY (Not to be cited) 7/6/06 explore the cultural capacity of Maori teachers to advance Maori aspirations in schooling by providing an historical overview of the participation of Maori teachers in state schooling sector, in particular, ‘mainstream’ secondary schools. Early Maori teachers More than fifty years prior to the establishment of the state schooling for Maori children in New Zealand in 1867, Maori were already involved in schooling. Initially as students in missionary schools, first begun in 1816, and then as Maori teachers. The missionaries encouraged the building of self-supporting Christian communities and Maori teachers were envisaged as a central ingredient to the development of schooling (Barrington & Beaglehole, 1974). By the 1830s through to the late 1850s the spread of literacy and numeracy skills amongst Maori was rapid, Maori were successfully learning and teaching each other (alongside and often under the guidance the Pakeha teachers) in mission and their own schools. Maori academic, Kuni Jenkins (2000) points out that although official reports of mission schools often failed to mention the contribution of Maori, that included roles as assistants and teachers, Maori were highly involved in ensuring the success of such schools. In these early years, Maori-led schools also developed within Maori communities. Run by Maori teachers and parents, the schools received no government funding or assistance. In 1862 when Inspector Govenor Gorst visited these schools in the Waikato region, he was impressed with many of these independent Maori-led schools. One school, in particular, headed by Wiremu Tamihana in Matamata, where three young Maori men were the teachers, was favourably noted in Gorst’s report. Gorst writes: All the children read Maori perfectly. All wrote down Maori dictated by the teacher, legibly and without any mistakes. They wrote on slates. Their knowledge of arithmetic was most creditable, on the whole the best I have met with any Maori school. They intoned the multiplication and pence tables, and answered easily all the questions put on these subjects. All could write down figures for any number named, no one failed in a question in addition, and all but three succeeded in reducing a proposed Jenny Bol Jun Lee 4 DRAFT ONLY (Not to be cited) 7/6/06 number of ‘twopences’ to pounds. All the arithmetic is done in English (AJHR, 1862, E-4, 5). Although reports by visiting inspectors note that some Maori teachers struggled in the Maori village schools (often due to lack of resources), there were also outstanding, highly competent and effective Maori teachers leading their own schools. Missionary-run secondary boarding schools became the institute where small numbers of Maori had an opportunity to attend secondary education as well pursue a career in teaching. The notion of Maori teachers for Maori students was not only accepted, but actively encouraged by the church and at that stage, by the state too. However, the 1860s was a turbulent time for Maori, schools were generally deserted as Maori turned their attention to issues of sovereignty, played out in the New Zealand land wars. Mission schools fell from favour, and had failed to turn out enough Maori teachers. Teachers as cultural workers The active involvement of Maori as teachers in these early schools is not to say that Maori did not desire to be taught by Pakeha teachers. Early on, Maori not only recognised the salient role of the teacher, but the cultural contribution that Pakeha teachers could make to the technological transformations that Maori wanted to occur in their communities. Maori recognised that Pakeha teachers were not only able to offer their technical skills and curriculum knowledge, but their cultural expertise. In 1877 a petition was presented by Wi Te Hakiro with 336 other requesting that teachers of Native Schools be ignorant of Maori language and culture (Ramsay, 1973, p. 40). At a time when Maori were still the numerically, culturally, politically and economically dominant in all social spheres, Maori were keen to learn about Pakeha beliefs, behaviours and cultural norms in order to enhance their way of life. Maori realised that through understanding western knowledge and cultural ethics, they could better cultivate relationships with Pakeha, position themselves advantageously in relation to land dealings, trade or inter-tribal politics. Jenny Bol Jun Lee 5 DRAFT ONLY (Not to be cited) 7/6/06 The state too was beginning to recognise the importance of teachers and the powerful nature of their work amongst Maori communities. In 1863 Inspector Taylor questioned the competency of Maori teachers as the state moved towards a state schooling system for Maori students. Taylor argued, The education of children under a Native teacher which must not be lost sight of, and that is, his inability to train the children to the habits and usages of civilised life – for I maintain that so long as a Native School exists in a Native settlement under a Native teacher … the children the children must continue rude, uncivilized and barbarous … We cannot expect a Native teacher to combat single-handed against customs almost honoured for their antiquity, or make headway where natural inclinations and parental example are perseveringly opposed to him (AJHR, 1862, E-4, p. 36). Despite the training, experience and effectiveness that Maori teachers had demonstrated in mission-run schools and in independent Maori schools, the state was beginning to reconsider whether Maori teachers were the most ‘appropriate’ teachers in light of the agenda of assimilation and the role schooling was intended to play in the colonisation process. By the time state schooling for Maori was launched in 1867, the state was explicit in its aim to assimilate and ‘civilise’ Maori. Key to this process of assimilation was the replacement of te reo and tikanga Maori with Pakeha knowledge, not only through a selected narrow curriculum but the appointing of ‘suitable’ teachers. Alongside the exclusive medium of English language and the physical structures of English culture embedded in the buildings, Pakeha teachers were seen as a crucial part of this ‘educative’ approach because they would not only instruct, but be culturally influential as well. The 1880 Native Schools Code clearly laid out who the Native Affairs Department considered to be the most ideal people to teach Maori children to be teacher-certificated, married, Pakeha men (AJHR, 1880, H-1F, pp. 1). Teachers were expected to be “direct exponents of the new culture” (Ball, 1940, p. 277) and agents of assimilation, Maori teachers were to be excluded. Jenny Bol Jun Lee 6 DRAFT ONLY (Not to be cited) 7/6/06 The reality, however, was that there were not enough ‘suitable’ teachers to fill all teaching positions in Native Schools. By 1867 the severe staffing crisis saw it impossible to locate enough certificated or uncertificated Pakeha males or females (particularly in the more remote areas). As a result a special provision was created so that Maori could enter the teaching profession (Simon & Smith, 2001, p. 327). Although not the preferred applicants, Maori entered teaching early on in the development of state schooling for Maori. Maori as cultural transition teachers Under the special provision that enabled Maori to apply for positions as teachers, it was Maori women who entered the classrooms in the role as junior assistants. Although primarily responsible for assisting the younger children of the school, junior assistants’ work could range from carrying out specific tasks to being fully involved in life of the school (Simon and Smith, 2001). Despite the junior role of Maori teachers as assistants, their Maori cultural competencies were quickly recognized.

Load more